Ron van Maanen
In the Army and Navy Chronicle was a quite description dealing with the French dockyard at Cherbourg published. In France were several naval bases equipped with yard facilities. This sort of descriptions are quite useful if we want to compare the dock yard facilities available for the European, African and North American navies. (1)
P. 163: “The inner basin, which is kept close, contains all the ships fining and in ordinary, the steam-boats not in employ, sheer-hulks, diving-bell lighter, and a number of other pontons and vessels for various uses connected with tilting out the ships. This basin in about 360 yards long by 260 wide, the whole cut out of the solid rock, and still more solidly faced with granite, and finished in the most careful and useful manner with rings, rollers, guns planted for the chain-cables, capstans, slips, stairs, recesses; in a word, with every possible improvement in strength, facility, and convenience. The men-of-war at present lying here are one small 74, the Genereux, with her lower masts in, a beautiful model, just commissioned, and under orders for sea, complement 800 men; three frigates of the first class, (60 guns;) the Reine Blanche, Calypso, Belle Poule, and Boussole corvette - these are covered in; not masted the Calypso just rebuilt from the water line, in consequence of having been run down at sea, by one of our men of war running on board of her; she is a beautiful frigate, as well as the Reine Blanche. Here, too, is the King's yacht brig of 200 tons, said to be as good a sea-boat and sailer as she is handsome; she is sufficiently gilt without being gaudy, and looks fit to stand any weather. There is besides a sloop of war (a gabarre) kept masted and rigged to exercise boys bringing up to the sea - a sort of nursery for the navy, which are cultivated in all the naval sea-ports under the name of “mouses”, well worthy of imitation; their numbers vary, as they are drafted into sea-going vessels; there are about 100 here now, in charge of a boatswain and mates, for their exercise. To the west of and facing the great basin, is a range of buildings; one division for the offices of the captain-superintendent, and the clerks of accounts and stores, &c.; another behind, as a naval school of construction, and various offices for the subordinate officers of the yard, together with others as depots of masts and yards. On the opposite side of the basin and slips, and next the bay, are foundries and forges; and various smiths’ and other buildings range at the head of the great building slips, containing various small iron stores, lead, and copper, one of hinges and locks, another of bolts and nails, others of chains, and one of all tools employed in the building department. There are two frigates nearly ready for launching, the Forte already mentioned, and the Alceste on a slip at the north end of the range of offices. The space behind this frigate, and extending the whole length of the basin, is now being excavated as a grand basin, capable of containing sixty sail of the line. This great work has been going on for some lime, slowly of course, since it is not immediately wanted, and there are so many other things in hand of more consequence. Still on this there are employed upwards of 100 men, and several carts, taking up the stone as it is blasted and worked out, to that part of the yard next the roads, where a party of
p. 164: from twenty to thirty load the lighters as they arrive alongside the wharf of the yard. To avoid breaking the stone unnecessarily, they have a good contrivance of shooting it on board down planks boarded at the sides, one man attempting to prevent the motion of the boat (as there is a good deal of swell) from displacing it. On observing the ground cut down at the back part of the yard (a part being still left near the ramparts to the north and west side), it appears that they must have cut and cleared out of the yard, to bring it level with the rocky base in the fore part next the roads, at least sixty-five feet, and into the solid rock beneath this about twenty more in the northern end, where the basin in may be said to he begun. The rest of the area extending south behind the Alceste, and to where there are forty or fifty sheds at present filled with building limber of all descriptions, is but lined out for future years’ completion. Extending further north beyond this basin, indeed beyond the wall of the dockyard, is a cannon foundry and depot of artillery in general, and shops connected with the iron-work of the gun-carriages, &c. This more distant part of the yard, as it recedes to the north-west, contains ample spare, from the angular figure of the fortifications in this irregular projection.”
Source
The Army and Navy Chronicle. Vol VI. New Series. 1 January-30 June 1838. Edition Thursday 13 September 1838, no. 193. Washington, 1838. Digitized by Google.
Note
1. See on this weblog for instance the notes dealing with the facilities in the United States, Great Britain, Hellevoetsluis in the Netherlands and Antwerp in Belgium.
